1. AS MEDIA COURSEWORK
EVALUATION
By Emma Smith

2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
My music magazine was created from the inspiration I found in my
research, solely focusing on magazine layout techniques and
features which are incorporated within my music magazine. The
house style of my front cover was taken from ‘Billboard’ magazine
where the colour scheme is contrasting between black and white
with minimal colour, keeping it a sophisticated magazine, whereas
‘Billboard’ gives off a more laid back and younger vibe. My fonts
were also inspired by ‘Q’ and ‘Billboard’ magazine as they are kept
to bold and basic styles but differ in the sense that I have altered
the use of fonts at different points to attract the readers attention.
My front cover image was taken from ‘Billboard’
magazine, ensuring the artists eye is directed towards the camera
and focused from the waist up, ensuring that the magazine front
cover is not too chaotic. All of my composed products, my front
page, my contents page and my double page spread, offer the
main demanding conventions of music magazines; including a
barcode, date, feature / cover story, magazine heading, page
numbers, and puffs (information boxes). This is an essential part in
the making of my magazine as it adds a realistic style to it and it
certifies that there would be a place in the market for my magazine.
However my magazine differs from most as it is on free on sale
rather than being priced. This shows I have taken my research into
account as the market for music magazines is decreasing and
turning digital, thus I have included a website address on my front
cover and my double page spread.

3. My matshead is
inspired by ANALYSIS OF MY FRONT COVER PAGE
‘billboard’
magazine, keeping
it simple and bold I have included the date
to attract the and barcode on my front
reader. cover as these are
conventions of many
magazines.
My image is also
inspired by ‘billboard’ With the struggling music
magazine and is industry I have made my
used to directly magazine free in order for the
address the audience readers to still enjoy the
and influence the magazine and all it has to offer
genre of the without loosing money. Putting
magazine, keeping it it in capitals, in bold and in
the main focal point colour in a simple text font is
of the page. an easy way to ensure it
attracts the audience.
‘Char talks’ shows I have included puffs of
the cover story of different shapes to ensure
this issue as well as important information
using a swirled font stands out as well as
to address a more keeping to near black and
feminine audience white colour scheme which
and draw the offers simplicity.
reader in.
I have included a website
Attracts a female address to keep up to date
audience and with the changing industry
address the age The overall colour scheme of black as well as attracting my
demographic of a white and deep pinks and reds is younger, social networking
slightly older consistently used throughout my final audience.
audience (18-24) as product to keep it classy, having been
it refers to older taken from ‘Billboard’ and ‘Q’
artists. magazine. It helps to directly separate
the audience from males to females.

4. ANALYSIS OF MY CONTENTS PAGE
Altering text fonts An introduction within
intrigues the reader as each issue, written by the
well as suiting fonts editor, is a convention
which apply to a female used within most
audience. Here, I have magazine contents
kept to the colour pages. The text is not
scheme of the complex, thus applies to
magazine, leaving the my audience well, and
writing in black so it is the text content was
easy read and stands inspired by my
out well. researched contents
pages.
Variations between
colour and text font Title of the page address
allows for a greater what it is going to entail.
chance of attracting the The font being taken from
readers attention. The DaFont.
content is specifically
exposed to The use of dark
music, enhancing the pinks keeps to
fact I am marketing a the colour
music magazine. The scheme of the
idea has been taken magazine as well
from my research into as addressing a
contents pages and is more feminine
separate from the main audience. The
text to offer variety. image is not
exposing a full
The use of the puff
length
allows for further
person, but the
advertising within the
bow creates
magazine as well
femininity within
brightening up the
My creative ideas lie within my contents page as it does not specifically the piece.
page and breaking the
text down. relate to a particular professional contents page but still holds the main
conventions and features to attract the reader.

5. ANALYSIS OF MY DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
A formal but
easy to read
introduction
ensures the
reader
understands
what the page
is about.
The title of this
page was
inspired by the
‘USA got the
love’ extract as
the use of
varied fonts
clearly attracts
the reader. I
took the fonts
from the online
website DaFont
but altered the
swirly writing
and the simple
writing for a
different effect.
The text is displayed in
I have included a
columns, another
The central image The large ‘C’ stands My magazine page number
convention of
takes up half the for ‘Char’ and has website address reference as a
interviews in
page, a common been inspired by the allows for the social convention of my
magazines as well as
feature I found extract on lady gaga networking double page
the questions being
through research. It which effectively audience to feel spread.
written in the bold to
is promoting music make it stand out. I breaks up the text involved and keeps
through the guitar have also included an and the pink pastel up to date with the
and again focuses introduction which is colour gives it its digital music
on representing a another convention of feminine house style. industry.
particular audience. magazine interviews.

6. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL
GROUPS?
In particular I have aimed for my music magazine to be an
inspiration for a younger audience, around the ages of 18-24 that
focus their interests on independent music artists that are steadily
growing in popularity. As suggested by the image on my front
cover and on this slide, it is likely that this audience is
representable of more indie and therefore independent groups of
people, likely to separate from mainstream trends although it is
also applicable to a mainstream audience if intended so. It is
most likely that the audience will take on a particular passion for
music, reflecting that of a more different or indie sound as
supported by the main image on the front cover. The text within
my double page spread is reflective of my aimed social group as
it is chatty using colloquial language which helps to involve the
reader in what they’re processing as well as helping them to
believe further in the music.
Audience segmentation can be broken down into age, gender
and demographic which can then relate to social groups. My
audience age, as stated above, is 18-24 year olds and has a
determined audience gender of women due to the colour
schemes on my produced pages. I would class my audience as
innovators, representing self confident risk-takers that seek new
and different things, setting their own targets in the hope to
achieve them.

7. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT AND WHY?
Through research I have been made aware of the decreasing
sales in the music industry, although due to many things, it has
been bought to my attention and therefore I have made my
magazine free and included an online website address for digital
access. This is useful for my young audience as many will be
short of money and some having to face payment demands of
university. Thus, going digital and including an online website
allows for my magazine to stay up to date with the ever changing
industry and from there can include deals and further information
on my particular music genre. Amongst this I would include apps
for the I-Phone and for smart and android phones for my
audience to have quick and easy access to the information they
need. This represents the age demographic of my audience well
as it is these ages in which people are most up to date and
interested in new technologies.
As my magazine follows some codes and conventions of ‘Q’
magazine it is likely I would get ‘Bauer’ to distribute my own
music magazine as it would invite a larger audience because my
music magazine is independent, giving them a wider diversity of
products. This would also help to support my magazine as it is
independent and would lack in profit because the subscription is
sold free of charge.

8. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?
A typical audience member for my media product would be
between the ages of 18 and 24 whose interests may solely lie
within music. The small age range is because my magazine
focuses on a specialised music genre, one that an older audience
may not take interest in and a younger audience may not be
aware of. My audience gender would be aimed mostly at women
due to the content and colour schemes of deep pinks and pastel
colours. As social class occurs I would aim to attract an audience
that fall into the social grade of potentially C2, but mainly C1 and
B, lower middle class and middle class people as my media
product presents a classy style with a twist. This is represented
through the use of fonts and text styles, images and content. As
stated before it is likely that the mindset of my audience would
come under innovators, self confident people who set out to
achieve their own goals but they may also be esteem seekers as
their acquisitive and materialistic side may be seen.
It is likely that my audience, as a young generation, would be up
to date and interested in new technologies, such as the I-Phone
4s. They would be keen social networkers and would therefore
be likely to come across the ‘Outspoken’ website, thus making it
more likely that they would purchase music online but not be shy
of revealing a classic mix of records. The audiences love for
music will always be exploited through attending music festivals
such as Glastonbury, always in search of something new and
exciting.

9. A TYPICAL AUDIENCE PROFILE
Age
18 to 24 year olds
Gender
Females
Work Status
A wide range from students to intermediate
managerial, administrative professional work or supervisory
work
Common Interests
A passion for music, attendance of music festivals such as
Glastonbury, socialising activities and frequent party goers
Music Genre
Primarily indie but open towards new and upcoming artists
featured within the magazine
Radio Choice
Radio channels which offer diversity within the music they
play and that also consistently engages with the listener, such
as BBC Radio 1
TV Choice
TV channels which appeal to a younger audience that offer
fresh and new series of entertainment that are light
hearted, such as E4

10. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT / ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?
The magazine styles and layouts I have chosen to use for my
media product suits the demographic of my
audience, particularly as new music is kept alive by younger
and more involved generations. The image on my front cover
is a person that represents the age demographic of my
audience, therefore audience is immediately addressed and
can attract a particular person to the product in the knowing
they will be able to relate to it and the content it holds. I have
used ‘typical’ more feminine colours such as pinks to address
a female audience and this colour scheme is carried out
throughout the pages I have produced. The font style is also
reflective of women’s handwriting or choice of text as it is
swirly and flows along the page, but it still easy to read. I have
broken this down by also incorporating bold and simple text
fonts to attract the reader to the more dominating parts of the
magazine. The image on the front cover is ‘indie’ looking and
therefore will automatically select and attract a particular
audience, again attracting a women audience as the image is
of a woman. This alternative route of a music magazine will
attract a specialised independent audience but may also open
up mainstream audiences into a new world, which is important
in exploring different varieties. In my text I have consistently
used simple language and avoided particular terminology as
my audience is of a young age, but I have still structured it to
engage the reader and keep it professional. My purpose is to
entertain the reader and inform them of new and upcoming
artists, which I think has been achieved successfully.

11. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE
PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?
From research ideas to producing my media product, I was constantly
aware of the new skills I was learning and how I was beginning to
incorporate them into my music magazine. I was particularly grateful
for the use of Photoshop in the alterations made within my images. I
was able to turn coloured images into black and white and increase
the contrast and brightness of each image to leave a professional
style to it. Although my final front cover image remains in colour, the
skills I learnt through experimentation came to use as I was able to
erase unwanted blotches on the model and make drastic changes to
the overall image. It is important to have a good camera as a bad
camera may result in a pixilated image which wouldn’t be acceptable
for use in the magazine industry. I was also able to incorporate many
layers within the production element of my media product which
allowed for easy alterations, as shown in my blog post about my
changed front cover. However as I did not specifically place headings
on my text layer it was sometimes difficult to manage, therefore I will
take this into account when doing further productions with the use of
Photoshop. From this work I am able to understand the effort that gets
put into the production of a magazine and how each detail should be
relatable to the chosen audience. Research on professional
magazines allowed me to understand the importance of each element
in a magazine and thus I was able to create a professional looking
magazine with the use of particular technologies.

12. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL
YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL
PRODUCT?
When producing the cover of a school magazine for my
preliminary task I was unaware of the use of Photoshop, never
having used it before. Therefore my skills were limited, but as
time has gone by and my coursework asked me to produce a
music magazine I was able to understand the use of Photoshop
and apply my skills to my full product, thus creating something
of a more professional standard. I feel I have gained the
confidence to explore new and different ideas, which is
supported by my alterations to my music magazine front
cover, as demonstrated within my blog. However I feel the most
important skill I have learned is the ability to apply different
elements to a particular product in order for it to address a
different audience. For example, my full product demonstrates
a clear audience of young independent women interested in an
indie genre of music, whereas my preliminary task is less direct
about its audience. I feel now that simplicity is the key to
gaining your audiences attention rather than overcrowding the
page with unnecessary elements. I am also aware that the use
of colour within a page can really be the deciding point being
selling a successful product or selling something that stays on
the self. A consistent colour scheme, as with my final
product, can attract the reader and bold exciting colours not
only help to address the audience but also ensure important
information is being easily expressed.

13. CONCLUSION
For our main coursework task, as media students, we were
asked to produce a three pages of music magazine, in
particular, the front page, the contents page and a double page
spread. I have achieved all three through the use of Photoshop
and the knowledge and understanding of the production
elements of magazines through research. My main skill which I
have learnt is how to address your audience directly with how
you present your magazine, I think my audience is quite clearly
address through all three pages of my media product. I was also
interested in how the music industry is slowly changing and how
the decrease of sales has lead to a more digitally presented way
of marketing certain products. Overall, I am pleased with the
work I have produced and completing the preliminary task
beforehand gave me the knowledge and skills to produce
something of a higher standard and something which could
potentially have a place in the market.